Midnight Monsters
by Drowned Ophelia
Summary: Adachi encounters Teddie for the first time. This doesn't sit well with him and he begins to worry about what else could pass through the TV from the other world. Later that night his fears get the best of him.
Adachi stopped dead in his tracks when he saw him. He'd had nothing in his refrigerator except for the old bag's nimono, which he was rarely desperate enough to eat, deciding to find something easy he could throw in the microwave. As always he was short on cash, so some instant noodles would have to do.

The only problem was the large bear in the clown outfit leaning against a shelf in the aisle he turned into; it was that same one he'd seen those brats befriend on the Midnight Channel. But… What was it doing here in the real world? It was late, and he was tired, but this couldn't be a hallucination.

After more hesitating Adachi cautiously approached Teddie, realizing as he got closer he could hear the bear breathing, but he wasn't moving. His eyes were closed; was it sleeping? Adachi was so disturbed to see that a creature from the TV World had somehow made it to this side his hand was shaking as he reached out to touch the bear in order to confirm he really wasn't seeing things.

He'd barely touched the fur on Teddie's face when his eyes shot open and he let out a loud scream, flailing his arms, and startling Adachi enough to make him shout and fall on his backside with a grunt.

"What's wrong?!" Yosuke came zipping around the corner to join them as Adachi was getting to his feet and Teddie was regaining his composure after such a rude awakening. "What happened?!"

"This guy touched my fur!" Teddie whined loudly, looking at Adachi with teary eyes as if he'd just been molested.

"Now wait a second!" Tired, hungry, and now this… Adachi didn't even want to think about how his night could get any worse.

It didn't take long for Yosuke to figure out what had happened, sighing and giving Teddie a shove that nearly knocked him over. "You were sleeping again, weren't you!"

"I-I…" Teddie was very much used to his unscheduled life in the TV World where he did whatever he wanted, so adapting to his new life was Yosuke had been quite tiring, despite his large supply of hyper energy.

"Just get back to work!"

"Yes, sir!" Teddie saluted before quickly skittering away, his feet making annoying suction cup noises long after he was out of sight.

Yosuke turned to Adachi. "I'm really sorry, Adachi-san. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"N-no…" In fact, Adachi realized he didn't have much of an appetite now, but might as well grab what he came for anyway. "Who was that?" It would at least be interesting to hear Yosuke try to come up with an explanation.

"That's just Teddie. He's staying with me for awhile, so I'm making him work here too. I don't know what he's doing still wearing that suit…"

So that's how he was playing it off… And it had never occurred to Adachi as to what would be in that suit. He felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Teddie had to be at least human looking, or else he wouldn't be able to walk around out in the open. He was curious as to what exactly was in there, but he made his way to the check out counter. Yosuke followed, giving him a ten percent discount that he muttered something about coming out of Teddie's pay, for the trouble. That didn't return Adachi's heart rate back to normal but it was nice to save even a little bit of money.

Adachi grabbed a beer after his noodles were done and hunkered down in front of the TV like he usually did, his slurping and the announcer of the local news the only sounds in the house. Still he couldn't shake how unsettled he was that Teddie was able to cross over and Yosuke was treating it like no big deal.

It got Adachi wondering if anything else would figure out how to do the same. There seemed to be endless mobs of Shadows, but they seemed rather unintelligent, operating on pure instinct rather than any sort of critical thinking. But the more intelligent ones that came out of the people that wound up thrown inside…

Adachi shook his head. The ones that had come out of those kids were all defeated and turned into Personas. There was nothing to worry about since they- His eyes widened. All of them except for Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi, the only two who had died as a result. What had become of their Shadows after killing their hosts? Were they still in there somewhere? It would be crazy if they emerged and tried to take their places.

They would be grateful to him for granting them their freedom, right? There would be no reason to cause him any grief. He stared nervously at his TV. Had Teddie emerged from the one at Junes? Could any TV big enough serve as a way to get in and out? He'd been tempted to explore for himself, but the fear of being attacked had been enough to put that idea out of his head before.

Adachi stood up and made his way over to the TV. Just a look inside wouldn't hurt anything. Then his mind could be put at ease that his set couldn't be used by anything to enter into his house. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and held it before sticking his head inside, for some reason thinking of it as plunging into water. When he opened them all he could see was a murky yellow with fog all around it, but it was better than seeing any living creatures or a platform.

"Guess there's nothing in this one." Adachi was relieved.

"Guess again!" a duo of women's voices said in unison before two sets of hands seemed to appear out of nowhere from the haze and seized his shirt, roughly pulling him downwards.

Only Adachi's right hand had been loosely holding onto the side of the set. He tried to tighten his grip but it was far too late and he felt more and more of his body be forced through the screen. He was shouting for them to let go, but only got laughter in response before at last he was entirely inside, falling onto the cold floor. He was disoriented for a moment, but wasn't in any pain.

Adachi scrambled to his feet in a panic. He hit the floor in what felt like less than a second, so surely he could hoist himself back up and get out of here. He looked up, unable to see anything that looked like a way back to his TV. He held his hands up as he inspected the area but only felt air. Then the laughter returned, making his blood run cold.

"Adachiiiii…" It was the women's voices again, directly behind him.

Adachi turned to see exactly what he'd been dreading: The golden eyed, smirking, Shadows of Yamano and Saki, but they weren't alone; they were each possessively clutching onto the arms of his own double. Now he was shaking, beads of sweat rolling down his face. Yamano and Saki's Shadows may not hurt him, but his own certainly would. Was there fog scheduled for tonight? He tried hard to think. If not then maybe it wouldn't be quite so hostile.

"What do you want?!" Adachi gathered up all his courage and shouted, scowling when the two women just giggled and his Shadow's smile got unnaturally wider to show off his sharp teeth. It was a stupid thing to say in hindsight; he knew just what was going to happen, he'd watched it multiple times now with those kids. "You're not going to screw with me! I won't deny anything!"

"Of course not," his Shadow agreed, his voice smooth despite the hint of distortion behind it. "You're just that pathetic. Not even thirty yet and you're content to be a loser."

Adachi clenched his teeth, but stayed quiet; he wasn't going to give the Shadow reaction to encourage it or accidentally say something to make it go berserk. He didn't have anyone to save him if he messed this up.

"Even after discovering your power you're not doing much. Just sitting by watching the mess you started, thinking you're so clever. If anyone gets in trouble it will be Namatame, not you. I guess you have to find something to be smug over when you're at home all alone. How long has it been since Dojima invited you over for dinner?" He snickered. "Why would he when he's got such an impressive nephew staying with him now? Anyone would get tired of what a jackass you are."

This Shadow knew everything he'd ever gone through and every self depreciating thought that had ever entered his head. No one but himself could be this effective at getting under his skin. The Shadows of his victims just added to it with their mirthful sneers.

Continuing to keep his mouth shut, Adachi turned his back on his Shadow, ignoring it when it asked where he was going. There had to be a way to the exit he'd always seen Yu and the others use; he just had to keep moving until he found it. The fog was so thick it was hard to make out anything as he passed by structures.

"Gah!"

Adachi had no idea where they'd come from or how they'd caught up, but he'd blinked and Yamano along with Saki had iron tight grips on his arms, holding him in place.

"You wanted me so bad…" Yamano mocked.

"Why would a high school girl want a geezer like you?" Saki scoffed.

"Such a big man, getting some confidence when you got your powers." Of course his Shadow had to be back as well. "You were so upset when you found out that soul mate rumor was bullshit. Then you didn't even have the balls to get your hands dirty; you just threw them in the TV and let their Shadows do all the work."

"Shut up!" Adachi finally snapped. "I don't have to listen to this!" He pulled against the two Shadows, but they didn't budge an inch. They wouldn't be as easy to deal with as their counterparts.

"Poor Adachi, everyone just likes to pick on you," Yamano's voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Here, we'll do something nice for you…"

Both Yamano and Saki pressed their lips firmly against Adachi's cheeks. At first it really wasn't unpleasant, even though he knew they were making fun of him, but then he noticed the warm softness he felt was overtaken by a cold, clammy sensation that made his skin crawl as he shuddered.

When the two Shadows pulled back Adachi screamed in disgust and horror, desperately trying to get free, when he saw that their faces were that of their corpses from the last time he saw them, a string of slime still connecting his face to Yamano's lips.

"Can't even face what you did?" his Shadow asked coolly at seeing Adachi futile struggle. "Man… You're way more embarrassing than those kids. I envy their Shadows; they at least belonged to someone who had a future. You, on the other hand… Why not let me kill you? You have nothing to live for. Eventually this will wrap up one way or another and all you'll have left is being stuck at your desk or trying to hide from your work until they pass you off to next poor saps in a different town."

"So what?!" Adachi was panting from his efforts, giving up upon getting nowhere. "I'll decide what to do after I see what happens! I won't be stuck in place like this forever!"

"After what your stupid ass did you have no hopes of becoming anything more than a gofer. All you're doing is whining, thinking you deserve to be one of the best, but what have you actually done? You did what people told you, trying to get ahead, but still managed not to stick out. You're a loser. No one would even care if you were dead; it would be a relief to Doijma."

"You're wrong!" Adachi blurted out, his Shadow's eyes flickering with excitement. "It's not my fault! I'll show them! I'm better than everyone in this dumpy town!"

"You're a piss poor liar!" his Shadow drew his gun, Yamano's clenching Adachi's hair to keep his head still as the muzzle was pressed against his forehead. "I might not be able to get you to free me, but I'll still put you out of everyone's misery!"

"Wait!" Adachi's eyes were wide. "You can't do this! That's not how it works!"

"So long!"

With a startled yelp Adachi fell off his sofa and onto the floor. Completely discombobulated and in a cold sweat, his eyes darted around the room as they adjusted to the dark. He was in his living room, he realized, but was so worked up from his dream he was shaking violently.

He had to take a piss, but his legs wouldn't cooperate. He looked at the TV and saw that an infomercial was playing. It was all a bad dream; none of it had happened. He kept reminding himself of that to finally get on his feet. His need to relieve himself wasn't urgent, so he found himself staring at the overpriced cooking utensils that the host was attempting to sell. Nothing had really grabbed him, but…

It was silly, but after switching off the TV Adachi placed a blanket over it. For some reason that made him feel better before he headed off to the bathroom; he'd remove it in the morning and try to forget that awful nightmare ever happened.

While washing his hands Adachi looked at his weary face in the mirror. He was always sloppy, but it was even worse than usual. His hair was sticking up, his eyes were sunken in with bugs under them, his skin was pale, there was lipstick on his cheek-

Adachi gasped and rubbed his face before taking a second look. There was nothing there now, and there wasn't any traces of it on his fingertips. He was still tired and out of it.

And yet the images and sensations of Yamano and Saki's corpses hit him again with a wave of nausea. Without warning he vomited into the sink, his beer tasting repulsive the second time around. There wasn't much in his gut, but his body insisted on heaving until there was absolutely nothing left before he sunk to the floor.

What had he done to deserve this? He'd felt fine all day and no one that he'd been around seemed sick. He did steal a co-worker's lunch out of the fridge in the break room, but could that really have been it? It didn't taste off.

One thing was certain as he laid his head down on the bathroom rug: He wouldn't be able to make it through his shift once morning arrived . He may be slacker who was handed down all the work no one else wanted to do, but at least he always showed up. No one should be hard on him for taking a sick day for once. All his energy was sapped so Adachi let his eyelids droop, unable to fight it. Hopefully at this point he would fall into a dreamless sleep.

Nothing more bothered Adachi, even his call in to work going smoothly. He sounded awful enough where no unnecessary questions were asked and the conversation was brief as he gave his symptoms before sluggishly shuffling into bed. He had the chills now, so he brought the blankets over his heads and wrapped them around himself tightly. Missing work was no fun when you felt like shit and could barely move.

It was later in the afternoon when his cell phone rang, a single hand venturing out from the pile of blankets before drawing it back in. Adachi was hesitant to answer when he saw it was Dojima, wondering if he'd be accused of playing hooky, but his boss was concerned and checking up on him instead.

When Dojima learned Adachi hadn't left his bed even to eat a little something yet that day he insisted on coming over. Now that the thought had been put into his head Adachi's stomach responded by growling, so he accepted, saying he'd leave the door unlocked.

…But now that meant he had to get up.

Adachi couldn't help letting out a pitiful whimper. His body couldn't seem to decided whether it wanted to make him feel like he was stuck in the arctic or inside an active volcano, changing his temperatures from one extreme to the next without warning. He had some time, but he was so achy his joints protested with every movement he made, and he felt so heavy…

He'd managed to get a robe on, but Adachi had no idea just how much time had passed until there was a knock at the door before doorbell rang. It took everything he had to answer it keeping his palm firmly on a wall the best he could for support. He was so slow he expected Dojima to give up on him and go home, but by the time he opened the door he saw his boss fishing in his pocket for cell phone.

That wasn't all. Adachi had expected Dojima to maybe come in for moment, hand him the food, and be on his way, but Yu and Nanako had accompanied him as well. Yu looked especially startled to see him in such a state, the concern in his eyes immediately irritating Adachi when he saw it. He was really beginning to hate how this kid had taken pity on him and was starting to treat him the same way as he would a stray cat. The moment he noticed Yu holding a Tupperware container in his hand Adachi knew he'd probably made something for him himself.

Despite this, Adachi forced a weak smile. "Wow, I don't think I've ever had this much company over!"

"There you are!" Dojima looked relieved before he too donned a sympathetic expression. "Looks like you really caught something nasty."

Before Adachi could respond Yu handed Nanako the container and stepped up to Adachi, gently taking his arm.

"Let me help you to the couch, Adachi-san." Yu had noticed he looked unstable, thinking he was about to topple over any second.

"I don't need-" Adachi tried to protest, but Yu actions had been enough to put him off balance, so he reluctantly put up with it, Dojima and Nanako following them inside.

"Do you want me to get you a pillow? Or maybe something to prop your feet up with?" Yu asked as he sat down closer to Adachi than he was comfortable with.

"No, I'm alright," Adachi dismissed while wondering just how long they were planning to stay.

"Why is your TV covered up?" Nanako asked, drawing everyone's attention to it.

"Huh?" Adachi had forgotten all about it. "W-well… I don't really remember. Last night got pretty rough once I woke up from being sick." In that daylight what he'd done seemed even dumber.

Dojima imagined he was most likely pretty intoxicated on top of being ill, so he didn't think much of it, Yu taking it upon himself to remove the blanket and fold it up when Adachi declined that as well. He was still feeling feverish, making a weak attempt to move away when Yu reached forward to feel his forehead.

"I'll go warm this soup up for you," Dojima said as he took the container from Nanako. "Try not to pester him too much," he added before going to the kitchen. He knew his daughter and nephew meant well, but could see that Adachi was losing his patience.

"Adachi-san, would like some help in the bath later?" Yu asked.

Adachi frowned. "Do I smell that bad?"

"I can tell you've been sweating," Yu answered honestly. "Even if it was just a sponge-"

"NO," Adachi interrupted firmly. That was the last image he wanted in his head. He was regretting more and more ever opening the door that he failed to notice Nanako had left to explore his home.

It had only been a few minutes, but it felt like an eternity before Dojima came back, Adachi trying his hardest not to make eye contact with Yu. His cool, gray eyes just looking for any excuse to offer to help him was too much to take right now.

"Thanks," Adachi said as he took the bowl of soup Dojima handed to him. He expected the next thing would be Yu wanting to spoon feed him, but he stayed quiet as Adachi brought the first bite up to his lips, blowing on it for a moment before trying a little.

He could tell by how good it was that it had to be something the high school boy had made and not simply store bought, so Adachi forced himself to compliment Yu.

Yu's happy smile at the praise was radiant. "I made sure not to put anything in it that would upset your stomach."

"I still can't believe you just picked up how to cook like this," Dojima commented.

Nanako soon wandered back into the room. "Adachi-san, do you want me to read you a story when you're finished?" she asked sweetly.

"We should be going home soon so he can rest."

"But mom always used to read to me when I got sick and it made me feel a lot better."

While Nanako sulked, wanting to do something to help Adachi too, Dojima gave his partner a pleading look.

"O-oh!" Adachi said when he noticed, looking back at Nanako to see she was holding a book at her side. "Well since you went to the trouble of bringing one you read a little bit for me."

"Yay!" Nanako cheered. "I found this one in your room," she said as she held it up for the boys to see.

Dojima gasped and Adachi began choking the bit of soup he'd just placed in his mouth, Yu quickly thumping him on the back. It seemed Nanako had left just to look for a bit of reading material, discovering one of the many adult magazines Adachi had, this one with two maids provocatively embracing each other.

"That's not for kids!" Dojima swiftly took it out of Nanako's hands, glancing over at Adachi to see he was mortified and actually looking much worse than when they'd first arrived. "Let's go wait in the car, Nanako; Yu can help Adachi if he needs it." He turned to Adachi. "I'll cover for you tomorrow if you're still not feeling well." He awkwardly dropped the magazine down on the floor before ushering Nanako out.

There was a pause as the two looked at one another.

"If it makes you feel any better Yosuke found mine under-"

"Please just get out of my house," Adachi interrupted wearily.

"Right… Sorry. I'll come by later tonight with something else. I hope you get well soon."

Yu was out the door before Adachi could tell him not to bother. Regardless of how he felt tomorrow he sure as hell was taking that extra sick day and avoiding all human contact.


End file.
